National Outlet Gives Cardinals Strong Offseason Grade

The Arizona Cardinals were anything but passive throughout the course of the offseason to this point. They were early buyers in free agency, and returned to that well multiple times.

Then, GM Monti Ossenfort displayed an obvious but aggressive strategy to improve every aspect of the Cardinals' defense, with six of seven players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft being defensive players.

Though many outlets have given the Cardinals stellar, ace-level grades, Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema did award Arizona a solid, albeit not outstanding grade.

The grade: B+

Sikkema explained his rationale as follows:

"The Cardinals went into this offseason looking to make sure Jonathan Gannon had everything he needed (realistically) as a defensive-minded head coach to morph Arizona’s defense into a top-10 unit, if not top-five.

"When Gannon first took over, Arizona finished the 2023 season with a 50.9 team PFF defense grade and a 38.2 PFF run-defense grade. Adding Josh Sweat, Walter Nolen and Will Johnson, as well as veterans Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell, are steps in the right direction for 2025. The Cardinals didn't do much on the interior offensive line, which kept this grade from reaching the A range."

Sikkema's comments regarding the defense are spot-on. His criticism of the lack of attention to the interior OL is valid, though it doesn't feel as if that position was truly the most neglected in through the course of this offseason.

The Cardinals likely need to add another offensive playmaker, preferably a veteran WR with some speed, who can play either in the slot or outside.

Of course, the Cardinals will likely return to a run-first offense, and they clearly have faith in second-year WR Marvin Harrison Jr., as well as star TE Trey McBride to produce most of the passing yards for QB Kyler Murray.

But even with an entirely defense-first offseason philosophy, the Cardinals are being continually noticed for their commitment to improving their roster in as proactive a way possible.

While that may or may not manifest into a dramatic change in their win-loss numbers, a lack of success in the 2025 season will certainly not be a result of low effort.